Sahrawi peseta explained

Sahrawi peseta
Iso Code:None
Iso Comment:(is used in commerce)
Local Name1:البيزيتا الصحراوي
Local Name Lang1:ar
Local Name2:Peseta saharaui
Local Name Lang2:es
Pegged With:Euro (166.386 pesetas = €1)
Using Countries: Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
Subunit Name 1:céntimo
Symbol:
Symbol Comment:(rare, see Spanish peseta)
Issuing Authority:Polisario Front
Used Coins:1, 2, 5, 10, 50, 100, 200, 500 pesetas

The Sahrawi peseta (Arabic: البيزيتا الصحراوي, Spanish; Castilian: Peseta saharaui) is the de jure currency of the partially recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic. It is divided in 100 céntimos, although coins with this denomination have never been minted, nor have banknotes been printed.

The first Sahrawi pesetas were minted in 1990, but they were not adopted as the national coin of Western Sahara until 1997. As this territory is mostly controlled by Morocco, the circulating currency in that part of the country is the Moroccan dirham, with Algerian dinars and Mauritanian ouguiyas circulating alongside the Sahrawi peseta in the Sahrawi refugee camps and the SADR-controlled part of Western Sahara.

As it is not an official currency and not circulating, the exchange rate is not realistic. Despite this, the Sahrawi peseta was pegged at par to the Spanish peseta and, when the latter was phased out for the euro, the rate became €1 for 166.386 Pts.

Coins

Non-commemorative coins are supposedly designated for circulation. They are made from cupronickel. The denominations are: 1, 2, 5, 10, 50, 100, 200 and 500 pesetas.

DenominationYearMetalDiameter
(mm.)
Weight
(gr.)
ObverseReverseImage
1 Peseta1992Cu+Ni17.002.99
2 Pesetas1992Cu+Ni20.003.51
5 Pesetas1992Cu+Ni21.00
50 Pesetas1990Cu+Ni24.406.4

There have also been commemorative issues in copper, silver and gold, as some of those shown here:

See also

References

[1]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: San Martín . Pablo . Western Sahara: The Refugee Nation . 2010 . University of Wales Press . 9781783161188 . 193 . The first Saharawi pesetas were coined in 1990, with an equivalence of 1:1 with the Spanish peseta. Although the Saharawi peseta has not been officially recognized, it has already been assigned an ISO 4217 international currency code: EHP. . en . 2022-07-11 . 2024-05-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240516200832/https://books.google.com/books?id=J2WuBwAAQBAJ&q=%22were%20coined%22#v=snippet&q=%22were%20coined%22&f=false . live .